Battling Matlock Baileans beaten by Cannock

Sports Reporter

Matlock went into this game feeling disappointed after their loss last week and knew they needed to come out with at least a draw for the Christmas break.

The first 15 minutes of the game saw Matlock have most of the possession, with hard work and great tackles from midfielders Gemma Phipps and Jody Carson meaning they were able to feed the ball in to the forwards Nina Smedley and Sarah Wain who were unlucky with their shots on goal.

And Matlock’s hard work was finally rewarded from a short corner as Lisa Beacham slotted the ball in the bottom right of the goal to put Matlock 1-0 ahead. Cannock started strong in the second half and quickly pushed Matlock in to their own defensive half, which was soon rewarded with a short corner that resulted in a goal.

But Matlock’s heads did not go down as they carried on fighting and working hard.

Unfortunately, Cannock took their chances once again and found one of their players on the penalty spot who struck the ball into the goal.

Matlock continued to fight hard with Leyanne Beacham performing some outstanding skills on the left wing and even managing to obtain a few more short corners.

Despite their efforts, another goal did not come and Cannock continued to take their chances and put two more goals into the back of the goal.

Matlock were disappointed with the end result and felt it wasn’t a true reflection of the full game.